Namibia National Artificial Intelligence Strategy

This is an adopted but non-binding national strategy, not legislation. It was officially launched in August 2025 and is led by the National Commission on Research, Science and Technology (NCRST) under the mandate of the Ministry of Education, Innovation, Youth, Sports, Arts and Culture (MEIYSAC); the recorded dates reflect the launch, not legislative enactment. Reviewer note: although the strategy has been officially launched (announced publicly by NCRST), the full text did not appear to be publicly downloadable at the time of drafting, so the Full Text URL points to the responsible body (NCRST) pending publication of the document, this should be verified and updated. The strategy's core focus is integrating AI to drive economic growth, innovation and inclusive development, aligned with Namibia's Vision 2030. It prioritises AI integration across food security, water, energy, health, education, climate change, mining, security and logistics, with additional attention to tourism and broadcasting. On governance, the strategy proposes a National AI Council, sector-specific technical working groups, and a dedicated National Responsible AI Institute to oversee responsible AI development; because these bodies are proposed under the strategy rather than already operational statutory regulators, no regulator is linked. The strategy was informed by Namibia's Artificial Intelligence Readiness Assessment Report, the country's first comprehensive evaluation of its capacity to adopt, develop and govern AI responsibly, produced by NCRST with UNESCO support and backing from the Government of Japan, and it builds on the earlier work of the Fourth Industrial Revolution Task Force. As a strategy it anticipates follow-up including institutional establishment (notably the National Responsible AI Institute), sectoral implementation and possible future regulation, but does not itself create binding obligations. It sits alongside Namibia's developing legal framework, including the draft Data Protection Bill and the Cyber Crime Bill and consolidated National ICT Policy being finalised by MICT.

1. 1Officially launched (August 2025) non-binding national AI strategy led by NCRST under MEIYSAC
2. 2Core focus on AI for economic growth, innovation and inclusive development aligned with Vision 2030
3. 3Priority sectors: food security, water, energy, health, education, climate change, mining, security, logistics, plus tourism and broadcasting
4. 4Proposes a National AI Council, sector-specific technical working groups, and a dedicated National Responsible AI Institute for responsible AI oversight
5. 5Informed by Namibia's UNESCO-supported AI Readiness Assessment Report and the earlier Fourth Industrial Revolution Task Force
6. 6Full text not yet publicly available at drafting; URL points to the responsible body (NCRST) pending publication